


Is it the look in your eyes

by nanasekei



Series: Happy Steve Bingo Fills [9]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Ultimates
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 14:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16536224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanasekei/pseuds/nanasekei
Summary: Steve gets a little weird while watching an episode of his favorite show.Or: How General Hospital gains a special place in Tony's heart.





	Is it the look in your eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is set somewhere in canon before the romance and engagement with Natasha happened, of course. For my Happy Steve Bingo square, "Proposal".
> 
> As always, thanks to Sheron for the beta and comments <3 And also thanks to the Ults discord for answering me about Steve's soap operas.

There’s a dramatic, loud, romantic song in Tony’s ears when he wakes up. He blinks his eyes open, a little confused. His face is smushed against a firm, warm surface that he immediately identifies as Steve’s chest. He considers closing his eyes and going back to sleep, but Steve is reaching for the remote a little frantically, so he can’t really settle back on his embrace properly.

“Everything okay, darling?”

“Yeah.” Steve uses the remote to lower the volume, and that’s when Tony finally identifies the source of the sound, coming from the huge plasma TV in the middle of the living room. “Go back to sleep,” Steve grunts, blue eyes turning towards him. It’s no more affectionate than the orders he yells out in the field, but Tony can see the worry in his gaze, feels the way his hand roughly ruffles his hair. Steve’s touches are always a contradiction, a strange mix of firmness and hesitation. Tony never gets tired of them.

Tony glances at the watch on the wall. It’s not very late yet, which explains why they’re on the couch and not in bed. Steve’s arm is around him, holding him closely, and Tony buries his face on his chest again, inhaling that pleasant musky scent of his that’s so addictive. It’s a true travesty that Steve doesn’t usually do hugs, because he just feels so wonderful. Tony melts into the touch, more than a bit pleased by the fact that he’s the only one who gets to have it.

“Is it the season finale?” Tony asks, twisting his neck a bit to get a glimpse at the television without giving up that precious spot over Steve’s chest. On the TV he recognizes the reruns of the latest season of General Hospital that he recorded for Steve to catch up on, when he inevitably kept missing episodes because of work. He watches as a couple hugs and twirls happily on the screen, under that same music. “Did they finally get together?”

“They’ve been together for three seasons,” Steve states, giving Tony a grumpy look.

“Hmm.” Tony mumbles against the fabric of Steve’s shirt. “Of course, now that you mentioned it—“

“Knock it off,” Steve says, but his mouth curls a little, as if he’s suppressing a smile, and Tony nuzzles his face against the curve of his neck. “You hate the show.”

“I’ll admit I might be a little oblivious to its appeals, darling, but I’m sure there are many,” Tony says, even though that’s a blatant lie, because General Hospital only has one appeal to him, and it’s in the shape of the big supersoldier he’s cuddled with right now. “If they’re already together, what’s the song all about?”

“They just got engaged,” Steve explains. His hand ruffles Tony’s hair again, more absent-mindedly, and Tony can’t fight back a sigh, eyes fluttering closed for a moment as he enjoys the touch.

“It still seems like a dramatic soundtrack choice,” he says, because he can’t help poking Steve a bit about the questionable quality of his soap operas.

He’s entirely unprepared by the way Steve’s face closes at the comment.

“Some people want to get married,” Steve grunts, and the sharpness of his tone, more than anything, makes Tony blinks his eyes wide awake.

“What?” he asks, a little flabbergasted by the reaction. Steve rarely closes off at light teasing like this, anymore. Usually he grunts, complains, and lets Tony kiss the grumpiness off his face. Steve’s posture is suddenly rigid, and he avoids Tony’s eyes, staring at the TV screen firmly.

“Just because it’s not your thing, doesn’t mean other people don’t care about it.”

“Not my thing?” Tony lifts his head, propping himself up on his arms to stare at Steve’s face more directly. Steve’s words rarely say much, but his face can spell out a book of different emotions and thoughts, and Tony got pretty good at reading it, the past few years. Or he thought he did. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean, darling.”

Steve shrugs in the least convincing performance of nonchalance humanity has ever seen. “Back in the day, that was how we did things. If you got a girl, and you wanted to do right by her, you married her.”

Like Steve planned to do, Tony knows. He searches Steve’s face carefully, looking for cues. Steve visits Bucky and Gail regularly now, but Tony imagines it must still hurt, the promise of a life he lost.

“Nowadays, it’s… different,” Steve says, making a gesture to encompass the room around them. Tony takes the change to nestle closer, to lay his hand on Steve face, caressing his cheek.

“Definitely,” he agrees, voice light, stroking Steve’s chin with his thumb. “Now, we can all happily live in sin.”

Steve scowls at the TV as if it offends him deeply. “That’s not what I mean,” he says, and his hands are off Tony now, falling to his sides. Tony can’t see it, but he’d bet anything he’s clenching his fists. “Back then, people did… this, too,” he continues, and Tony makes the wise decision to not tease Steve into saying the expression _living in sin_ , at least not now. “’s just… Now, anyone can do it. Get married. It’s, it’s easier, I suppose.”

Tony tries to gather some sense form Steve’s words, but he’s as lost as he can be. “Anyone?”

“Yeah.” Steve finally turns his eyes towards him, and his blue gaze is too tense for the conversation they’re having, Tony thinks. “It’s law now, isn’t it? Anyone can do it. Even…” He gestures between the two of them.

Tony raises his eyebrows. “Even…?”

“You know. Two fellas.” Steve repeats the gesture, and there’s a flush on his cheeks now, as if he’s doing something other than stating societal changes. Tony’s breath hitches. “Like…”

“Like you and me?” Tony says, voice weaker than he means to, because his heart feels at his throat, now. Surely, he’s not getting this right. There’s no way…

“Yeah.” Steve breathes. He swallows. “Yeah,” he repeats, looking at him with a mix of tension and resignation. “Like you and me.”

There’s a loud noise of someone apparently dying on the TV, but Tony barely registers it. He feels unable to even blink while staring at Steve’s face.

“Steve,” he manages to whisper. “Would you…”

The flush on Steve’s face deepens, and he looks away. “You don’t want it,” he says bluntly. “I get it. After—“

“I—What?” Tony stutters. He feels dizzy, and a part of him wonders if maybe he still hasn’t woken up yet. “Steve,” he calls, hand going to Steve’s jaw, gently making him turn towards him. “Steve, are you saying…”

“Damn it, Stark, will you drop it?” Steve says firmly, finally turning towards Tony. But Tony can’t drop it, not now, not with the way those eyes are looking at him.

“Would you… Would you want that?” Tony doesn’t recognize his own voice, too soft and weak. “To—To get married?”

Steve presses his lips together. His eyes dart away from Tony’s, glancing at the TV. “’s the way it used to be. When you were, you know. Going steady with someone.”

“You never mentioned it,” Tony’s hand is clutching his chest now, and it feels like his heart is going to burst out of it. “You never—“

“I’m not complaining.” Steve’s voice is firmer now, his gaze turning back to Tony’s. “You asked me to move in and I did.”

As if Tony needs to be reminded of that. He remembers it perfectly, how Steve went still at the suggestion, then nodded and said _Okay_ with a flush on his cheeks. Just that word had made Tony’s entire month. Getting to have Steve by his side every day, waking up next to him, curling up on the couch with him while he watched his soap operas – that already felt so precious and impossible.

Marriage, though. A promise for a lifetime. Steve _never_ broke his promises. To think he’d want—He’d look into Tony’s eyes and _want—_

“Darling,” Tony starts. He should probably gather himself together, regain some composure, but he can’t bring himself to do it. “Do you want to get married?”

A part of him expects Steve to look away, to go rigid under him, to regret and retreat in response to the obvious neediness of Tony’s words. But instead he turns to Tony, eyes bright and nervous and stunningly beautiful, and sustains his gaze as he speaks.

“Yeah,” he mutters, and Tony can feel that he shakes a little although he doesn’t look away. So brave, he thinks, more than a little dazed, completely lost in those eyes. Steve’s so goddamn brave. “But you don’t—“

“Steve,” Tony breathes, and for a crazy moment he just wants to say his name, again and again. “I didn’t—Sweetheart, I had _no idea_. You—You want us to get married? Are you sure?”

Steve peers at him, that unyielding gaze that he gets when nothing in the world could change his mind about something. “I told you,” he says, and Tony’s blinking too fast now, feeling his eyes burning. “I’m serious about this. I don’t take these things lightly.”

“I know,” Tony says. He’s over, completely undone, heart swelling heavily on his chest, head spinning and tears prickling at the corner of his eyes when he leans over to press a kiss onto Steve’s mouth. “You don’t take anything lightly, you wonderful, stubborn man,” he whispers against Steve’s lips, those soft lips that are his to capture again and again. Steve’s arms are around his waist again, and Tony rests his forehead against his. “Oh, darling, marry me?” He punctuates his words with kisses all over Steve’s flushed face, stopping only to watch those amazed, wide eyes. “I would’ve asked ages ago if I thought there was even a chance you’d say yes.”

“You—You would—“ Steve stutters, and Tony is overwhelmed by the spark of hope on his eyes. “Yeah?” he asks, as if he can’t even bring himself to say it, and Tony understands it completely.

“I can get a minister here in an hour if you want to. Half an hour, maybe.” Tony says, voice light although he’s not even in the vicinity of kidding, and Steve huffs out a laugh, leaning forward for a kiss.

“It’s a bit late,” Steve mutters against his mouth. His hands stroke Tony’s back, coming up to his shoulder blades. “We don’t even have rings yet.”

“I’ll take you shopping first thing in the morning,” Tony declares, hands cupping Steve’s face, pressing sloppy kisses over his cheeks. “And then I’m sending flowers to the writers of General Hospital.”

Steve frowns at him, arms tightening at his waist, but Tony can see the way his eyes sparkle, so bright and happy like he’s never seen them before. “You’re not sending them anything,” he says, but there’s a smile threatening to come up at every movement of his lips.

He’s so beautiful. He’s gonna be _Tony’s_. Tony’s husband.

“Darling,” Tony whispers. “I’m sending them an entire flower shop.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea if General Hospital has an episode with an engagement and a death, but, you know, poetic license and everything.
> 
> Thank you for reading it! Comments and kudos warm my heart. And, if you want, you can [reblog the post](http://elcorhamletlive.tumblr.com/post/179810301015/is-it-the-look-in-your-eyes-nanasekei-marvel) on tumblr.


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